Society & Solitude #5 - Hill Farmstead Brewery

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Moll for grabbing the growler for me. Served in Hill Farmstead stemware. Nose has loads of grapefruit and accompanying peel. Very dry. Fairly bitter, but not super over the top. Pretty light body. Another huge winner from Hill Farmstead. I am not surprised.

Serving type: growler

12-16-2012 19:55:47 | More by Thorpe429

MasterSki

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

2L growler from Jim (jale). Thanks a ton dude! Served in a Kuhnhenn tulip.

A - Big white foam settles to a thin cap, thicker collar, and spotty lacework. Murky peach juice color that is fairly light, but seems to be typical of Hill Farmstead's hoppy beers in this ABV range.

S - Smells like grapefruits. There's some citrus flesh, light grass, and a touch of orange zest, but this is heavy on ripe grapefruits. Not much malt character either, with just the lightest pale malt and vanilla wafer backing things up.

T - The taste is redolent of grapefruits too, with lots of citrus pulp and zest present. Moderate bitterness and a very restrained malt backbone - just a ton of bitter grapefruit flesh and zest. Perhaps a touch of grass in there as well.

M - Medium body, with pleasant active but soft carbonation. Very dry in the finish, with tons of lingering hop oils and resins. No perceptible alcohol.

D - Very easy to drink at 7.8%, with tons of flavor. I love the dry texture, and attenuated malt bill - Shaun can roll with the best West Coast Pale Ale brewers. I like this significantly more than #4, and I managed to crush the entire growler with a little help from the indefatigable Marie Curiosity. Hopefully Hill Farmstead revisits some of the best recipes from this series of beers.

Serving type: growler

10-10-2012 02:15:28 | More by MasterSki

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.35/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a cloudy golden orange color with good carbonation leaving a small fluffy white cap which resedes after a few sips revealing layers of white rings clinging to the edge of the glass.

S: Healthy doses of pine needles, grapefruit and some orange peel. Very appealing and pleasant

T: An immediate grapefruit, pine resin meet the palate with a moderate dry hop bitterness. The malt bill is very light on this really leaving the hops to work overtime. Light booze, bigger pine and citrus notes keep the taste buds salivating. The finish is clean, a little sweetness, bitter and it has a drying but resiny duo thing going on.

M: Medium bodied, almost light to medium, well carbonated. Very airy, pleasant.

O: Again, so nice, wanted a bit more body. Again, this beer is just so damn clean and tasty that i did not even care. Very well crafted beer.

Serving type: growler

12-01-2012 21:03:29 | More by barleywinefiend

mdfb79

New York

4.58/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

From 10/02/12 notes. Had this on tap at Rattle n Hum in NYC. 10 oz. pour, had two glasses of it.

a - Pours a murky, orange-golden color with one and a half fingers of fluffy bright white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of oranges, citrus, grapefruit, pine hops, tropical fruits, lemon, fruity malts, floral hops. Ton of fresh hops and fruit; really an amazing nose for a hoppy beer. Perfect for me.

t - Tastes of oranges, citrus, lemon, grapefruit, tropical fruits, bready malts, pine hops, some earthy notes, and floral hops. Again, really amazing, though I think the nose had a little more to it. Still an amazing taste.

m - Medium body and low to moderate carbonation. Body is super smooth and insanely easy to drink. Not much bitterness at all for a DIPA. Near perfect mouthfeel for a DIPA for me.

o - Overall a really amazing DIPA. I also drank a Heady Topper and Ephraim tonight, and this is right up there with them as some of the best hoppy beers I've ever had. I think I like it a little bit better than S&S #4 as I find this less bitter and more drinkable. Perfect nose and mouthfeel to me, would love to have this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

10-03-2012 21:35:11 | More by mdfb79

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.68/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Looked like an extremely cloudy, vibrant color yellow, not dissimilar to many American wheats or hefeweizens. White head, looked distinct and respectable. Aroma was out of this world, heavenly luscious tropical fruit aromas, this is the creme de la creme of new proprietary hop aromas coming out, this ain't your daddies C hop bomb (nothing wrong with that though).

Taste is replete with solid citrus and tropical fruit bursts, very juicy, the bitterness is very doable, fruit stripe gum kind of pleasantness without all the coppery bitter bite of bandwagon jumper double ipa fools in recent years. A distinct amount of peach to it. Malt aspect of the beer is only enough to keep the hops running in ridiculous amounts of flavor punch. Its light. Pineapple and peach together at last, with all kinds of mango, lemon and tangerine thrown in to round out the hop mouthfeel. Yowza! Typical for Hill Farmstead, the alcohol is nowhere to be found tastewise, its just a massively enjoyable beer. Extremely dry finish, this is just one of many beers to seek out if you call yourself a hophead.

Massively awesome stuff.

Serving type: growler

01-20-2013 05:43:16 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First had: on tap at Hill Farmstead

And I got it just as it was starting to kick too, fortunately. Cloudy peach-yellow pour with a medium-sized white head that settled to a wispy layer of bubbles leaving some spotty lacing on the glass. Lots of fresh citrus in the nose, some notes of pine and tropical fruit. The taste reflects the nose in a tremendous way, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, pine resin, grass, light biscuity malts in the background. Mouthfeel is crisp and juicy, light-medium body fairly bitter in the finish, slightly higher ABV essentially unnoticeable. Great beer overall...just another in a long line of great IPAs/APAs from HF.

Serving type: on-tap

10-13-2012 19:37:59 | More by Rifugium

HopHead84

California

4.45/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

10/13/2012

Growler from Barry, thanks! Snifter.

A: Very hazy yellow orange with a frothy white head. Scattered lacing.

S: Spicy grapefruit with notes of mango, tangerine, and orange. Exceptional fruit profile. Perfumy floral notes with no malt influence. There's a little lemon in there.

T: Very dry with notes of lemon and grapefruit. Lots of rind as well as flesh. Upper moderate bitterness with no real sweetness to shelter the palate from the hop onslaught. Dry, bitter, juicy, well attenuated finish. No evident booze.

M: Lower medium body with upper medium carbonation. Sticky and dry mouthfeel.

Overall: A great addition to the Society & Solitude series. Very nice.

Serving type: growler

10-14-2012 04:43:59 | More by HopHead84

Brad007

Vermont

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Picked this up at the Hill Farmstead Autumn Harvest Festival in a 750ml bottle. I honestly had not sampled the previous four in this series so I was not sure what to expect.

Pours a cloudy orange-blonde with a two-finger head that fades to lacing in my glass. I was not expecting the cloudiness but perhaps it's there for a reason?

Spicy with a touch of pine and citrus in the nose. It tingles my olfactory gland, mellowing me out.

Wow. It starts with a touch of pine that morphs into a tsunami of acidic grapefruit with a sweet, biscuity backbone. Something about this just feels so right.

It's all in the mouthfeel. The hops fade and lead to a buttery, doughy, lupulin-soaked aftertaste. Wow.

Sure, scoff at the repetitive use of "wow". I am very happy with this selection.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 01:48:13 | More by Brad007

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer is hazy golden yellow with a white head. Citrus and hops, grapefruit, orange, rind. Smells fabulous. Smooth and delicious. Lingering hops with a delectable bitterness. Little malt profile. Medium bodied with appropriate carbonation. Another winner from Shaun and the folks at Hill Farmstead.

Serving type: growler

09-28-2012 20:20:18 | More by Huhzubendah

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.93/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On-tap at the Blackback Pub in Waterbury, served in a HF goblet. One of many. :)

A: Cloudy gold body beneath an inch of creamy eggshell head. Terrific retention, great lace. Lovely.

S: Dank weed, gigantic juicy grapefruit, and nothing else. Perfect.

T: All grapefruit here. Rich, juicy, bitter, amazing hops. Smooth, clean finish. Wow.

M: Medium body, creamy carbonation. Great.

O: One of the best beers I've ever had, and a serious rival to Heady Topper for the best DIPA I've ever tasted. If only Heady hadn't just kicked at Prohibition Pig, I would have gotten to try these head to head. Instead, I just had to settle for drinking several of these back to back. The horror. ;)

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

01-03-2013 02:19:18 | More by woosterbill

billab914

Virginia

4.35/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a growler into a stone snifter. It poured a hazy light golden color with a thick foamy white head. Great lacing as I drank it.

The aroma shows some Juicy peach and tropical fruit flavors. A little grapefruit rind bitterness mixing in along with some light notes of grapes. A little of the pale malts peek through. Very nice hoppy aroma overall.

The taste shows a little more of the grapefruit rind and crisp grape notes to it at first. Peach and tropic fruit lead into a dry finish. Really great juicy and bright hoppiness to it.

The mouthfeel is on the lighter side with moderate carbonation. Very good beer overall, loved the juicy bright hoppiness. Very drinkable and flavorful.

Serving type: growler

12-09-2012 13:25:46 | More by billab914

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.58/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Growler to HF Stemmed tulip. Growler filled on Sept 22, consumed on October 5th.

A - Very cloudy golden yellow with some orange in the centre. Half a finger of white head with moderate lacing.

S - Massive hit of fresh grapefruit, pine and orange zest with a fairly noticeable but not overwhelming bitterness. Some sweet honey/caramel in the background.

T - A bitter punch up front with one of the most pungent grapefruit rind flavours I've tasted in a beer. While most grapefruit-forward IPAs taste of fresh grapefruit juice, this one definitely tastes of the bitter rind, not the fruit. There are also lighter peach and orange zest flavours present with a lighter honey/caramel malt sweetness in the background. The finish is bitter and dry.

M - Medium body; chewy with the typical HF IPA dryness that I love. Light carbonation.

Serving type: growler

10-07-2012 15:23:12 | More by TheSevenDuffs

Arbitrator

California

4.65/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Chilled growler into a glass. I'm getting lazy about reviewing, but after having this from 3 separate growlers (thanks Jason and Chris for 2 of those), I don't think I can make any excuses.

A: Looks like unfiltered peach juice capped with frothy, lacy off-white head. Again, my usual disclaimer about how "I like clarity but this is an exceptional beer so I will temporarily restrict my standards" applies.

S: Grapefruit, orange peel, pineapple. Some pale malt sweetness. Very strong, expressive aroma.

T: Grapefruit with lesser elements of pineapple and orange pulp. Bitterness is moderate in the mid-taste but nonexistent in the aftertaste. Pure citrus flavor throughout. There may be an element of sweetness during the taste, but the finish is dry, so I think that's just a mental trick from the fruitiness.

M: It's worth noting that when I was serving this at a tasting, I proudly asserted that this was "only 5.6%." I think that underscores how [scarily] drinkable this is; it drinks like something much, much lighter and can be deadly in larger quantities. This is remarkably clean and dry, with no lingering bitterness, no heaviness, no detectable ABV...

O: Hill Farmstead consistently churns out quality IPAs and DIPAs. This is no different. I prefer Abner to this one, but we're talking about incremental degrees of excellence at this point.

Serving type: growler

10-17-2012 18:38:29 | More by Arbitrator

Sean9689

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Parker Pie and HF Harvest Fest 2012 into HF wine glass and pint glass (at Parker Pie).

Pours a mirky golden yellow color, white head, thin collar, spotty lace. Aroma is hop-forward without being over-the-hop, light fruity sweetness, some resin in there too. Flavor is grapefruit, pine, and citrus. Hoppy yet smooth...not a palate-wrecker...very well-done. Light toward medium body, good carbonation, oily hoppy finish.

Easier to drink then S&S #4 and I think I enjoyed this one a bit more as well. Very easy to drink for 7.8% and the perfect balance of hops to not kill me after one or two glasses. Great stuff!

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2012 19:49:58 | More by Sean9689

cosmicevan

New York

4.85/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Notes taken from 9/29 from the craziest bottle share that i have ever been a part of. Thanks so much to the NYC and Hoboken crew for letting me participate in this incredible day of drinking long time wants and insanity.

Thanks kindly to Josh(?) for sharing.

a - light soft straw yellow with foamy IPA head. swirling my glass brings things back to life.
s - perfection. really just and amazing smell. IPA dreams.
t - wow. crazy good. grapefruit, citrus, everything you look for in a well crafted IPA.
m - soft easy drinker. a bit on the thin side.
o - overall, one of the best IIPAs I've ever had. Hill Farmstead really doesn't make a bad beer.

Serving type: growler

12-06-2012 19:35:21 | More by cosmicevan

merc7186

New York

4.2/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had this beer poured from a growler into a tulip glass.

A: Hazy Golden Straw Hue, Passes Some Light, Thick White Head, Great Lacing

S: Mild Grapefruit, Mild Grapefruit Rind

T: Grapefruit, Mild Grainy

M: Great Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Bitter

Overall, good but disappointing for a DIPA.

Serving type: growler

09-25-2012 00:13:35 | More by merc7186

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Sampled on draft a few times during the Harvest Festival weekend, and a few glasses from a growler watching football on Sunday.

Pours a pale, hazed golden amber with a dense, soapy white head that fades fairly quickly to a thin collar and some clumpy lacing. Aroma and flavor are like biting into a fresh grapefruit with a surprising lack of bitterness in the finish. Aroma is ruby red grapefruit, citrus rind and skin, not particularly sweet, artificial or juicy. Flavor has a little more sugary sweetness, but continues with fresh grapefruit notes. Pulpy in the finish with long lasting lingering acidity and no bitterness. Dry, crisp and balanced, body is exceptional for this series. I realize describing this as a grapefruit IPA makes this sound like 1 of N other beers, but this was remarkably unique and exceptional.

Serving type: on-tap

09-23-2012 19:34:24 | More by yourefragile

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.88/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Thank's so much to the awesome franklinn for this, along with many other VT treats. I should note that sadly, this growler is almost 4 weeks old. I just couldn't pick it up until now. It's almost completely filled to the top and has been kept very cold until now, when I poured it into my Bruery tulip.

Appearance. Pours a very hazy honey-gold with two fingers of thick white head that leaves some great bands behind.

Smell. The smell is absolutely massive as I pour this into the glass. Big piney, floral hops with a bunch of yellow grapefruit and other citrus fruits. There's also some great, lightly toasted malts backing those hops and just a faint hint of stinky socks ...hey, that's what I'm getting.

Taste. Sweet yellow and pink grapefruits with some bitter rinds. There's a little orange and lime present ans well along with some nice lightly toasted light grains. There's a bit of juicy sweetness but the finish is dry. Just an explosion of flavour with a good amount of bitterness. Really awesome stuff.

Mouthfeel. Medium body with a medium amount of creamy, velvety smooth carbonation.

Overall. We have a winner here folks. The juicy grapefruit flavours along with that amazing creamy, yet still well carbonated mouthfeel is really something to behold. This has to be the best DIPA I've ever tasted, despite my early reviews of another being higher. I couldn't imagine this tasting any better despite the growler being filled several weeks ago.

Serving type: growler

12-16-2012 03:25:25 | More by Rutager

inlimbo77

Delaware

4.23/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

64oz growler (Harvest Fest)
New Belgium Globe

A: Hazy as hell golden orange color. About a finger of bright white head. Leaving some sticking lacing sheets. There is some yeast in suspension floating around. Again, so cloudy.

S: Tons of piney grapefruit notes. Very reisinous. Smells so inviting. Low malt bill. Hop bomb. Right in my wheel house.

T: Lots of crazy hop bitterness on tongue. Just really attacking it. Tons of pine and grapefruit. Hop bomb. Low malt bill. I like the lower ABV for a DIPA. Not as sweet with the lower malt too.

M: Medium bodied. Lighter than most DIPAs.

Serving type: growler

10-01-2012 18:24:49 | More by inlimbo77

SpeedwayJim

New York

4.53/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Tyler for this one. 22oz growler into a snifter.

Pours a 1 finger frothy white head that dissipates slowly. Beer is a pale, cloudy lemon. Lacing is thick, layered, and patchy. Pretty beer.

Nose is aromatic as hell. Citrus, pine, mango, papaya and other tropical fruits. Real sweet, fruity and super appetizing. Real pulpy and grassy too.

Opens with a big citrus punch. Grapefruit, papaya and passion fruit along with a strong cane sugar backbone. Fruity hop bitterness comes in towards the middle to tie things together and balance the sweetness. Finishes with more mango, papaya, and other tropical fruit flavors. Aftertaste is pleasantly citrus. Very nearly perfect.

Light bodied and well carbonated. Light and prickly in the mouth and on the tongue and aggressive and quenching going down. Finishes messy with a long, lingering aftertaste. Can't get enough of this one!

Another very nearly perfect pale ale from Hill Farmstead. I'm convinced they churn out the best variety of consistently amazing ipas of any brewery around.

Serving type: growler

11-24-2012 03:08:20 | More by SpeedwayJim

jmarsh123

Indiana

4.63/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks Jason for the bottle!

Pours cloudy gold with a pillowy white head. As usual excellent retention and lacing.

Smells like fresh fruit juice. Loads of mango, pineapple and grapefruit.

Starts off with a little bitter floral flavor. Cracker malts in the middle before finishes with a huge grapefruit rind finish. Do yourself a favor and let this one warm up a bit. It's good cold out of the bottle, but the tropical fruit juices really come through more as it warms and the grapefruit is delectable tart.

Good light creamy mouthfeel with medium carbonation.

Fantastic beer. Perhaps liked S&S #4 a bit more, but this is still delicious. About the only nitpick I have, is it took the beer a bit of temperature to hit its sweet spot. Absolutely love the grapefruit presence.

Serving type: growler

11-10-2012 19:10:22 | More by jmarsh123

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tasted from a growler 24 hours after the 2012 Hill Farmstead Harvestfest.

Society and Solitude #5 pours a hazy straw yellow with a medium sized, creamy head on top. The foam is slow to dissolve leaving behind a coating of lace on the glass.

The aroma is loaded with pine, grapefruit and lemon citrus. A touch of bready pale malt is also present.

Each sip of this medium to full bodied beer is oily on the palate with a good firm carbonation. The flavor has lots of lemon and grapefruit citrus as well as some pine. There's some bubblegum sweetness and a touch of bready pale malt found in the background. The beer finishes dry and bitter and slightly tart. Once gone the lemon citrus lingers on the palate.

This is a very tasty beer that's loaded with hop flavor, but the aroma fades quickly.

Serving type: growler

09-30-2012 23:50:55 | More by WanderingFool

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from tap at the 2012 Harvest Festival - twice. Pours a beautiful hazy straw color with nice head. Aromas are just amazing. Big citrus/grapefruit hops! Taste is deff full of the grapefruit, but sweet hops and malts really balance the bitterness. Its just so drinkable and bursting with flavors. One of the best Double IPA's out there. Have this brew if you can get your hands on it!

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2012 19:11:58 | More by DrinkSlurm

brystmar

New York

4.25/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Mac & Justin for sharing!

This bright, straw-colored body is lighter in color than I remember from other HF DIPAs. Delicate lace and head form atop the liquid which, again, departs from the thicker, often aggressively stubborn foam shown by their other offerings.

Taste and aroma are similar. Initial dose of lemon zest has spring in its step, yet this succumbs to the hoppy base midway through the drink. Fresh hops take over, imparting a bitter quality that isn't overbearing or imbalanced, yet doesn't quite capture the magic of their previous DIPAs. More hop resin at the end for a unique finish.

A crisp, clean, tasty brew that's sure to please many, but I'm still an Abner man.

Serving type: growler

10-01-2012 18:29:00 | More by brystmar

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

4.98/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Presentation: 2L growler filled at the brewery and sampled a little later. Kept chilled since it was filled and poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: Very light in color, more yellow than orange, and pretty cloudy. Pours a really nice, three finger, pillowy white head with really solid retention.

Aroma: Huge pineapple, mango, grapefruit and other tropical fruit notes from the hops pack a pretty aggressive punch upfront. A really hoppy, agressive nose. Lots of tropical hop aromas without much bitterness. LIght malt backbone is barely noticable and really allows the hops to shine.

Taste: Big, sweet topical fruit notes of pineapple and mango upfront. Extremely juicy and fruity. Some citrus zest, particularly orange and tangerine, play nicely off some grapefruit and just a bit of hop bitterness. Slightly bitter, dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and nicely carbonated. Incredibly refreshing and easy to drink.

Overall, this is probably my favorite HF IPA. I had this side by side with Abner and I slightly preferred this. Incredibly juicy and fruity, with a great tropical hop profile. Refreshing, balanced and extremely tasty. I think this might be the single best IPA I've ever had.

Serving type: growler

11-24-2012 23:47:22 | More by Gosox8787